DOCSLIB.ORG

Jesus in Lamentations A. Introduction 1. Every Book of the Bible Has One

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Jesus in Lamentations A. Introduction 1. Every Book of the Bible Has One THE BIG READ (45) Jesus in Lamentations A. Introduction 1. Every book of the Bible has one dominating theme – Jesus is the Christ. “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’” (Luke 24:45-47) Jesus is the Christ who will suffer and die. Jesus is the Christ who will rise from the dead on the third day. Jesus is the Christ who will forgive the sins of all who repent. Jesus is the Christ who will be preached to the nations. 2. The Old Testament that Jesus read contained the same 39 books as our English Bibles but was arranged in a different order. It had three sections – the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” (Luke 24:44) The final section of the Old Testament is the Writings. Whereas the Prophets looked back to what happened to Israel and why it happened in order to call the nation to repent and return to God, the Writings looked forward to the hope that was coming to those who repent, through a King like David, and showed those who did, how to live faithfully in all of life’s circumstances as they waited for His arrival. This means that though the books found in the Writings sections were written at different points in Israel’s history, it was after the Babylonian exile was over, that they were collected together to give the remnant hope and guidance as they waited. 3. The next book in the Writings is Lamentations. Lamentations is a bridging book. The Writings end with four narrative books set during and after the exile (Daniel, Esther, Ezra- Nehemiah, and Chronicles). Lamentations sets the context for these by focusing on the despair and grief felt by God’s people in exile. But it also picks up on a theme from the previous book, Song of Songs. In Song of Songs, there is a scene when the bride (God’s people) distances herself from her Bridegroom, and she experiences the unpleasantness of God’s discipline. Lamentations puts words to this experience, because in Lamentations God’s people have distanced themselves from Him and are feeling His discipline. B. Getting Started with Lamentations 1. What is Lamentations? Lamentations is a series of poems that express how God’s people felt after experiencing His disciplining hand upon them. They have the feel of a funeral dirge. The first four poems are acrostics, where the first letter of each verse starts with a succeeding letter of the 22 letter Hebrew alphabet. The fifth poem is not an acrostic, but does have 22 lines to it. By using this pattern, the author of Lamentations appears to be stressing the completeness of his grief, that he uses every letter that could be used, to express the depth of his pain. 2. What was the event that caused Lamentations to be written? Although we’re not told precisely what the event was, it is pretty clear that Lamentations is a response to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the subsequent exile of God’s people to Babylon in 587BC. This fits with Jewish tradition which says that the author of Lamentations was Jeremiah. In fact, in the Greek Old Testament, Lamentations actually begins with these words, “And it came to pass that Jeremiah sat weeping and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem and said…” The destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon was a disaster for God’s people on many levels – military, political, spiritual, and personal. “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that the LORD brought on me in the day of his fierce anger?” (Lamentations 1:12) “The LORD has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago. He has overthrown you without pity, he has let the enemy gloat over you, he has exalted the horn of your foes.” (Lamentations 2:17) “The LORD himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honour, the elders no favour.” (Lamentations 4:16) The reason it happened was because God was disciplining them for their sin and rejection of Him. “Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The LORD has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe.” (Lamentations 1:5) “My sins have been bound into a yoke; by his hands they were woven together. They have come together. They have come upon my neck and the LORD has sapped my strength. He has handed over to those I cannot withstand.” (Lamentations 1:14) “Let all their wickedness come before you; deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my sins. My groans are many and my heart is faint.” (Lamentations 1:22) 3. Yet because the historical event is not explicitly given, the book also serves the purpose of showing to God’s people in every age, how to respond to God’s discipline. For the remnant after the exile was over, Lamentations taught them how to honest about the pain of being disciplined by God, and also how to be hopeful because of God’s great love and faithfulness to His promises. “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The LORD is good to those who hope is in him, to the one who who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:19-26) “You, O LORD, reign for ever; your throne endures from generation to generation. Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.” (Lamentations 5:19-22) C. The Story of Lamentations (or rather The Story of Jesus in Lamentations) 1. Lamentations is made up of five laments, one per chapter of the book. Each lament looks at God’s discipling hand upon His people (in Jerusalem’s destruction) from a different angle. Chapter 1: The Calamity Chapter 2: The Crusher Chapter 3: The Cure Chapter 4: The Cause Chapter 5: The Cry 2. The first lament describes the calamity that God’s discipline brings. “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.” (Lamentations 1:1) “Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. “Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed.” (Lamentations 1:9) The situation for the people left behind in Jerusalem is desperate. 3. The second lament describes the crusher, showing that it is God who is ultimately behind the discipline His people are experiencing. “How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of his anger! He has hurled down the splendour of Israel from heaven to earth; he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.” (Lamentations 2:1) “In fierce anger he has cut off every horn of Israel. He has withdrawn his right hand at the approach of the enemy. He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire that consumes everything around it.” (Lamentations 2:3) “Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and maidens have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity.” (Lamentations 2:21) 4. The third lament describes the cure the people need when they are experiencing God’s discipline. In Hebrew poetry, the climax is in the middle rather than at the end, and here in Lamentations 3, we see some rays of light in the midst of the surrounding darkness of the book. The people can have hope because God is faithful to His promises and will not totally abandon His people. “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21-23) Therefore, they should repent and return to Him. “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:40) 5. The fourth lament describes the cause of God’s discipline. It was because of their sin, especially those of their leaders. “But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous.” (Lamentations 4:13) The leaders of Jerusalem will be more severely judged for leading the people away from God.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Structure and Meaning in Lamentations Homer Heater Liberty University, [email protected]
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Liberty University Digital Commons Liberty University DigitalCommons@Liberty University Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate Faculty Publications and Presentations School 1992 Structure and Meaning in Lamentations Homer Heater Liberty University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/lts_fac_pubs Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, Ethics in Religion Commons, History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Other Religion Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Heater, Homer, "Structure and Meaning in Lamentations" (1992). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 283. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/lts_fac_pubs/283 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School at DigitalCommons@Liberty University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Liberty University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Structure and Meaning in Lamentations Homer Heater, Jr. Professor of Bible Exposition Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas Lamentations is perhaps the best example in the Bible of a com­ bination of divine inspiration and human artistic ability. The depth of pathos as the writer probed the suffering of Zion and his own suf­ fering is unprecedented. Each chapter is an entity in itself, a com­ plete poem.1 The most obvious literary device utilized by the poet is the acrostic; that is, poems are built around the letters of the alpha­ bet.
    [Show full text]
  • Lamentations 1-5 Pastor Bob Singer 03/24/2019
    Fact Sheet for “Doom” Lamentations 1-5 Pastor Bob Singer 03/24/2019 We have come to the book of Lamentations. The title of this book… “Lamentations”… aptly describes its content. These five chapters are filled with gut-wrenching pain and anguish over the destruction of Jerusalem and what the Jewish people had experienced and were experiencing. It’s not an easy book to wrap your heart around, but there is a small island of verses right in the middle that have long been a focus of encouragement for God’s people. But let’s begin with a little of the background of this book. 1. It is generally assumed that Jeremiah wrote it, even though its author is not identified. It was written at the right time for Jeremiah to have authored it. And many of the themes found here are also found in the book of Jeremiah. 2. Each chapter is a highly structured poem. The first four are acrostics based on the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza begins with the appropriate letter. Unfortunately, there is no way to show this in translations. This is why chapters 1,2 and 4 have 22 verses, and why chapter 3 has 66. Chapter 5 also has 22 verses, but it is not an acrostic. Here’s a run-down of their lives. 1. Famine was an every-day threat. The Babylonians had laid siege to the city for a year and a half. They cut off the supply of food for the city. And the famine grew ever worse.
    [Show full text]
  • Lamentations
    Lamentations. 1. The Book of lamentations consists of five separate poems on the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. 2. These funeral songs and prayers describe both the horrors of the extended siege (e.g. Lamentations 4:4-5) and the destruction itself. 3. No other book captures so vividly the despair of seeing Zion destroyed, of seeing the holy city and its temple become a mockery to the nations. 4. Lamentations is traditionally attributed to Jeremiah, which explains its usual placement after the Book of Jeremiah, but the book itself does not name an author. 5. Whether by Jeremiah or an unknown poet, the book is surely an eyewitness account of those wretched days. 6. The five poems were penned, probably not long after Jerusalem's fall in 586 B.C., by someone who had seen the slaughter of many of his people,the enslavement of others, and the abject despair of the few survivors. TEMPLE AFIRE (Lamentations 2:5-7) 1. Temples were the focal point of civic life and the target for invaders. 1. 2.. The patron deities of the city were believed to dwell in the temples. 2. Festivals were held around temples, and valuables were deposited in them: they were the earliest banks. 3. For invaders, the capture of the central temple served several purposes, not the least of which was obtaining the wealth stored there. 4. To take the temple was also to show that the gods of the city had chosen the conquerors over the local inhabitants. This meant that the conquerors were now the legitimate rulers of the people, land, and any possessions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Book of Lamentations, an Introductory Study [Texas Pastoral Study Conference, April 28, 1981] By: Pastor Thomas Valleskey
    The Book of Lamentations, an Introductory Study [Texas Pastoral Study Conference, April 28, 1981] by: Pastor Thomas Valleskey The Name of the Book and its Place in the Canon meaning, “Ah, how!” In ,אביה ,In the Hebrew text the Book is named after its first word the Septuagint, however, the book receives its name from the contents of the book. The Septuagint title simply reads qrenoi (tears) and adds a subscript ‘of Jeremiah.’ The Latin Vulgate retains the title ‘tears’ (threni) and adds the interpretation, ‘id est lamentationes Jeremiae prophetae’. It is from the Vulgate that the English translations take their title for this book, The Lamentations of Jeremiah. In the Hebrew canon Lamentations was placed just after Ruth in the Megilloth (rolls)of the Kethubhim (writings) or Hagiographa (sacred writings), the Hebrew canon being divided into the torah (the writings of Moses), the nebhim (the writings of the called prophets) and the ketubhim (the writings of other holy men of God). The Septuagint places Lamentations after the prophecy of Jeremiah and the apocryphal book of Baruch, and this position was later adopted by the other versions, including the Vulgate. The English versions (and Luther) adopt the Septuagint placement of the book. The authenticity of its place in the Old Testament canon has never been questioned. The Authorship of Lamentations According to both Jewish and Christian tradition the author of Lamentations was the Prophet Jeremiah. This tradition already appears in the Septuagint, “And it came to pass after Israel had been taken away into captivity and Jerusalem had been laid waste that Jeremiah sat weeping and lamented this lamentation over Jerusalem and said.” The Vulgate repeats these words and adds to them, “with a bitter spirit sighing and wailing.” The early Church Fathers, such as Origen and Jerome, unanimously accepted Jeremiah as the author of this book.
    [Show full text]
  • Lamentations
    YEAR 2 FAITH BIBLE READING PLAN INTRODUCTION TO Lamentations BOOK BASICS READ ALONG KEY THEMES 04/28-04/29 Lamentations 1-5 • The major theme of Lamentations is suffering (national suffering of Judah). There is an evi- dent movement from protest concerning suffering (1:1-22) to penitent turning to God (5:1-22) • The result of sin is death and destruction (2:21, 4:1-11). God’s faithfulness to His promise of WHERE IS IT IN THE BIBLE? judgment is seen in His sovereign plan to bring destruction on Judah. He is acting justly, not unjustly (2:17). God promised His people in Deuteronomy 28 that if they would not obey His 22. SONG OF SOLOMON DATE TYPE AUTHOR commands, then all the curses pronounced in the law would come upon them (Deut 28:15). 586-562 BC Poetry Unknown* 23. ISAIAH He states in vv. 49-50, The LORD will bring a nation from far away, from the ends of the 24. JEREMIAH earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you won’t understand, The OT book of Lamentations has a name a ruthless nation, showing no respect for the old and not sparing the young. which describes both the content and genre 25. LAMENTATIONS The book affirms God’s great faithfulness to extend never-ending mercy (3:19-24). Judah’s of the writing. The book is poetic in form 26. EZEKIEL • only hope was to turn to God and trust Him! Those who turned to the Lord (the remnant) and addresses the universal human experi- 27.
    [Show full text]
  • A Plea for Restoration
    A Plea for Restoration Bible Background • LAMENTATIONS 5 Printed Text • LAMENTATIONS 5 | Devotional Reading • LAMENTATIONS 3:22-33 Aim for Change By the end of this lesson, we will UNDERSTAND why the writer of Lamentations pleaded with God for the restoration of Israel, SENSE the writer’s feelings over the oppression of his nation, and PRAY for and engage in the restoration of broken relationships with God. In Focus Karen and Tim stood with their neighbors, in shock over the fire that was eating up their apartment complex. As they stared in disbelief, Karen broke down and began to wail, “I can’t believe what has happened, we lost everything, and so many people have been displaced from their homes all because of someone’s negligence.” The fire had spread quickly, taking one whole building and threatening another. The first responders were still putting out the last flames and seeing to those who had breathed too much smoke. Tim wanted to do something to help comfort his neighbors but didn’t want to leave Karen, who was heartbroken over the loss of their home. “It’s not just the possessions, Tim. It’s our history, our life together, your mother’s photo albums, my paintings. And now it’s all in ashes,” she exclaimed. “How can we rebuild?” Tim suggested they pray, but Karen was still too angry. Overcome with emotion she asked, “God, where are You in this? What did we do to deserve this?” Tim held his wife and consoled her. “We need to believe God, Karen. We have to trust His love and His promises to never leave us, and that He will sustain us through this crisis.” Tim heard Karen take several slow, calming breaths.
    [Show full text]
  • Lamentations
    WISDOM COMMENTARY Volume 30 Lamentations Gina Hens-Piazza Carol J. Dempsey, OP Volume Editor Barbara E. Reid, OP General Editor A Michael Glazier Book LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press Cover design by Ann Blattner. Chapter Letter ‘W’, Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 4, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2002, The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. © 2017 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. 123456789 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hens-Piazza, Gina, 1948– author. Title: Lamentations / Gina Hens-Piazza ; Carol J. Dempsey, OP, volume editor, Barbara E. Reid, OP, general editor. Description: Collegeville, Minnesota : Liturgical Press, 2017. | Series: Wisdom commentary ; Volume 30 | “A Michael Glazier book.” | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017022472 (print) | LCCN 2017000813 (ebook) | ISBN 9780814681794 (ebook) | ISBN 9780814681541 (hardcover) Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Lamentations—Commentaries. | Catholic Church—Doctrines.
    [Show full text]
  • Syllabus, Isaiah and Jeremiah
    The Major Prophets, Part 1 Isaiah and Jeremiah Raphael. The Prophet Isaiah, detail (fresco), c. 1511. Basilica of Sant’ Agostine, Rome. with Dr. Bill Creasy Copyright © 2021 by Logos Educational Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this course—audio, video, photography, maps, timelines or other media—may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval devices without permission in writing or a licensing agreement from the copyright holder. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner. 2 The Major Prophets, Part 1 Isaiah and Jeremiah Traditional Author: Isaiah Traditional Dates Written: c. 740-686 B.C. Traditional Periods Covered: c. 740-539 B.C. Traditional Author: Jeremiah Traditional Dates Written: c. 626-586 B.C. Traditional Periods Covered: c. 626-586 B.C. Introduction The Hebrew Scriptures (or the Old Testament) feature three main characters: king, priest and prophet. Of course, God is to be Israel’s king: in the beginning, God makes an irrevocable covenant with Israel; he leads the Israelites out of Egypt in the Exodus; reaffirms the covenant at Mount Sinai; tests the Israelites throughout their 40-year wilderness experience; and finally, under Joshua’s leadership, moves them into the land of Canaan—the “Promised Land”—where they dislodge (to some degree) the indigenous people who live there: the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (Judges 3: 5-6).
    [Show full text]
  • THE BOOK of LAMENTATIONS Chantable English Version with Tropes by Len Fellman August 12, 2017
    THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS Chantable English version with tropes by Len Fellman August 12, 2017 CHAPTER 1 1 How she sits alone the city once full of people. She has become like a widow, the greatest among the nations, the princess among the provinces. She is reduced to slavery. 2 She weeps bitterly in the night. Her tears run down her cheeks. There is none to comfort her from all her lovers. Her companions have all betrayed her; they have become her enemies. 3 Judah is exiled in affliction and by hard labor. She[sits among]the nations but she finds there no relief. All her pursuers overtook her in her dire straits. page 1 of 35 4 The roads to Zion are mourning for want of festival pilgrims. All her gateways are deserted. Her priests are groaning. Her maidens are afflicted; she is embittered. 5 Her oppressors have become her master; Her enemies prosper. Since God has aggrieved her for the greatness of her sins. Her young children have left her as prisoners before the oppressor. 6 Gone from the daughter of Zion is all her splendor. Even her leaders have become like deer that find no pasture, that flee without strength before their pursuer. page 2 of 35 7 Jerusalem remembers her days of misery and her roaming; All of the treasures that were hers in the days of old when her people fell into the[hand of the enemy], and there was none to help her. The oppressor did[gaze at her] and laughed at her downfall.
    [Show full text]
  • Lamentations 202 1 Edition Dr
    Notes on Lamentations 202 1 Edition Dr. Thomas L. Constable TITLE AND POSITION The English title of this book comes from the Talmud,1 which called it "Lamentations" (Heb. qinoth). The Hebrew Bible has the title "Ah, how" or "Alas" or "How" (Heb. 'ekah), the first word in the first, second, and fourth chapters. The title in the Septuagint is "Wailings" (Gr. Threnoi). The position of Lamentations after Jeremiah in the English Bible follows the tradition of the Septuagint and Vulgate versions. They placed it there because of its connection with the destruction of Jerusalem, which Jeremiah recorded, and the Jewish tradition that Jeremiah wrote both books. In the Hebrew Bible, Lamentations occurs between Ruth and Ecclesiastes as the third book of the "Megilloth" or "Scrolls," within the third and last major division of the Old Testament, namely: the "Hagiographa" or "Writings." The Megilloth consists of The Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther. The Jews read each of these books on a special feast or fast day each year: Passover, Pentecost, the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem, Tabernacles, and Purim respectively. The Megilloth followed three books of poetry (Job, Proverbs, and Psalms) and preceded three other books (Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles) in the Hagiographa. WRITER AND DATE This book does not identify its writer. The common view that Jeremiah wrote it rests on a preface in the Greek Septuagint, which the Latin Vulgate 1Baba Bathra 15a. Copyright Ó 2021 by Thomas L. Constable www.soniclight.com 2 Dr. Constable's Notes on Lamentations 2021 Edition adopted and elaborated on.
    [Show full text]
  • A Text-Critical Analysis of the Lamentations Manuscripts
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Stellenbosch University SUNScholar Repository AText-criticalAnalysisoftheLamentationsManuscripts fromQumran(3QLam,4QLam,5QLam aand5QLam b) EstablishingthecontentofanOldTestamentbookaccordingtoits textualwitnessesamongtheDeadSeascrolls by GideonR.Kotzé DissertationpresentedinfulfilmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeDoctorofTheology(Old Testament)attheUniversityofStellenbosch Promoters: Prof.LouisJonker FacultyofTheology DiscplineGroupOldandNewTestament Prof.JohannCook FacultyofArtsandSocialSciences DeptofAncientStudies March2011 Declaration Bysubmittingthisdissertationelectronically, I declarethattheentirety ofthework contained thereinismyown,originalwork, thatIamthesoleauthorthereof(savetotheextentexplicitly otherwisestated),thatreproductionandpublicationthereofbyStellenboschUniversitywillnot infringeanythirdpartyrightsandthatIhavenotpreviouslyinitsentiretyorinpartsubmittedit forobtaininganyqualification. Date:15February2011 Copyright©2011StellenboschUniversity Allrightsreserved ii Summary This study takes as its point of departure the contributions of the Dead Sea scrolls to the disciplineofOldTestamenttextualcriticism.Itdealswithaparticularapproachtothisdiscipline and its application to the four Lamentations manuscripts from Qumran (3QLam, 4QLam, 5QLam aand5QLam b).TheapproachtoOldTestamenttextualcriticismfollowedinthestudy treatstheQumranmanuscriptsofLamentations,theMasoretictextandtheancienttranslationsas witnessestothecontentofthebookandnotmerelyaswitnessestoearlierformsofitsHebrew
    [Show full text]
  • Lamentations – Jeremiah Weeps
    Lamentations Jeremiah Weeps Lamentations 3:21-26 January 20, 2018 Today As noted last week, king Josiah led the last revival in Judah. Many hearts were moved, but for the majority, it was only a surface change. Like Zephaniah, Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry during the reign of Josiah and continued through the reigns of Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedikiah. Also like Zephaniah, Jeremiah attempted to call Judah back to God, but he was never able to prevent the downward spiral and eventually, those conditional prophecies became a certainty. As the sun rises and he peers through the morning mist and smoke at the rubble of his beloved city, Jeremiah falls to the ground, tears streaming down his face as sobs shake his body. Jerusalem is GONE! It had been the capital for some 400 years and now it’s just GONE! In Lamentations we see the very heart of Jeremiah. He had poured himself into the task God had given him to bring Judah back before it was too late and now his heart is broken. Why Jerusalem? WHY? WHY? WHY? The 1st explanation – “they sinned greatly”. • Lamentations 1:8 - Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away. The 2nd explanation – “God is righteous” - God did it and He was right in what He did. • Lamentations 1:18 - The LORD is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command. Listen, all you peoples; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into exile.
    [Show full text]